Help, I'm Alive
by Euphoric Dysphoria
Summary: And when the helicopter flew away, she knew things weren't going to go as planned. They were stranded. This wasn't a joke anymore. No, now she was stuck with four strangers as she fought for her life. They were practically left for dead. gradual ellis/oc
1. prelude

**Disclaimer: Really shouldn't have to say this, but I don't own Left 4 Dead, or its sequel, in any way, shape, or form. And if I did, I would be so proud of myself. The only thing I do own, is my characters, which will be notable, so I'll save you from the early introduction.**

_My, my, it has been quite some time since I've written, so this'll be interesting. I know I'll probably have a difficult time writing all the characters perfectly so I'd love it if you guys helped me out a little. :)  
>Avid readers of mine (the few that there are :c): I'm writing a Portal fan fiction at the same time as this so <em>_**I might jump from third person to first person on accident**__, and I'm sorry! Chapters are gunna be a little shorter than the norm, I wanna keep this casual. I have no idea which story is going to be out first, but, enough talk, here we go!  
><em>_**This story contains language, gore and suggestive content. Keeping your kids safe since 1988.**_

**Help, I'm Alive  
>Prelude  Dead Center**

Willow couldn't tell which came quicker: the joy that leapt into her heart when she heard the whirr of the helicopter's wings, or the dread that sank her stomach when she heard the sound growing further and further away. She had no clue that emotions could come and go so easily. As she gawked at the sky, watching the helicopter float away, she tried to convince herself that this was all a joke. The pilot was just playing a joke on her. He'd show back up in no time, he was just trying to get a laugh. Spook her a little. Of course, that's what they all did in _emergency life or death you-need-to-get-the-hell-over-here situations_, right? No. She cursed as her prediction grew more and more false and the helicopter swayed away into the afternoon sun. What was she thinking?

"The hell? I thought they were supposed to be savin' our asses!" The cry was a harsh one and came from in front of her, shaking her thoughts from her head. Willow's eyes lowered from the sky, focusing on the strangers in front of herself. She watched the back of their heads with curiosity, though she remained far from them, as she had the entire trip. No, she hadn't forgotten about the group - it was more like they'd forgotten about her. While they trudged through hallways and dashed upstairs together, she followed, a couple steps behind. It wasn't like she preferred to be alone. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was nice to know that she wasn't completely alone while the world fell apart.

"Oh no, no no, this isn't happening, this isn't happening…" The woman chanted, a frustrated and shaking hand pressing against the roots of her hair that were dampened with sweat. She wiped her hand on the thigh of her jeans, still following the helicopter with terrified eyes.

Next to her was another man, bent over and panting from their previous frantic sprint up the stairs. He wore a white suit (well, it was white; now it was more of a beige), complete with shining dress shoes that tapped with every wobbly step he inched forward with. The man from before, a tall, dark-skinned, and large fellow, groaned disapprovingly and kicked at the metal fence that separated them from the edge of the building and a long drop.

"You've gotta be shittin' me," The southern drawl was new to her ears, and she instantly turned in the direction of the voice. He stood by the woman, a navy hat clinging to his short, brown waves. His t-shirt had already been dirtied, along with the mechanic jumpsuit clinging to his legs and wrapped tight around his waist. He stumbled closer to the fence, boots clunking loudly against the floor.

"So what the hell are we going to do now?" The burly man spoke again, this time, he spoke for everyone else. He eyed the group behind himself, expecting an answer from someone. After a short silence, Suity spoke up.

"There's only one thing _to_ do." He lifted himself up slowly, brushing the dirts and dusts from his pant legs. "Get outta here on our own." Then there was another pause from the group. Willow scanned the crowd from behind, waiting for a reaction, or another order, but everyone simply watched the man with wary gazes. So then, she stepped forward, bare feet pattering on the floor.

"He's right. They're not coming back anytime soon." She must've stuck out like a sore thumb - her soft, round face amongst the rough ones. Her hair was short, soft dark brown curls hugging her chin and fringes falling across her forehead that were wet with sweat. She was a tiny girl, wearing a long sleeved gray sweater over a dark pair of jeans that clung to her skin.

The woman turned to face Willow, her features shocked to hear the mute finally speak up, but her eyebrows fell once she finished her sentence. "Alright. So, where to?" Her tone was optimistic, something that slowed Willow's racing heart.

The mechanic spoke up, his voice chipper with excitement. "Chopper looked like it was headin' toward the evacuation center at the mall downtown. I know these parts like the back of my hand, I can take ya'll down there!" He watched the group, eyes bright and giddy.

"The boy's right. Sounds like we got ourselves a plan," The bulky man said, finally turning away from the fence and facing the group. "Also sounds like we'll be stuck together until then. What's your names?"

"I'm Rochelle. I produce a news show." The woman turned to Willow, a welcoming smile on her lips. "You?"

"Willow. I just transferred to a college here." And what a smart decision that was, wasn't it? "Engineering major." Her final year. She was pretty much done with college until the zombies came along.

"Willow, like the tree? My mom used to have a real big one in 'er front yard but we had to get rid of it cause these weird maggot-beetle hybrids started callin' it home." The hic chuckled at his own story. "I'll remember that. Folks call me Ellis. I run an auto-shop 'round here."

"Good to meet a local. People just call me Coach." The tall man spoke again. "What about you, son?"

"Nick. Shouldn't matter, I ain't sticking around for long." Suity stood up to his full height, his profile facing the rest of us. He cracked his fingers.

"Let's try and stay together for a little while longer. Alright, Nick?" Coach extended an arm for a shake, but Nick simply stared. He closed his fingers and lowered his arm when he noticed the look.

"Great, we're friends now. That's done." Nick turned, slowly stepping away from the group and toward the door we'd barged in through. "Moving on. This building? It's on _fire._ So… I'd like to leave it. I suggest we all take advice from the helicopter and _get the hell out of here._"

There was a short silence before Willow spoke again. "… He's a great guy. We'll make an unstoppable team." She received a giggle from Rochelle, who shook her head in disbelief.

"Hate to admit it but he's right." Rochelle's expression fell grim for a moment with her next statement. "Those… things out there, they're dangerous. I've been hearing things… we should all grab weapons."

Willow nodded warily, her palms sweating with fear. She didn't want to go back out there. They'd been lucky enough to dodge those monsters on their first trip, but there's no escaping them this time. She swallowed hard and started to follow Nick's path, joined by the rest of the group. Next to the door was a white folding table scattered with weaponry: pistols, fire axes, and baseball bats. Nick was the first to grab a pistol, followed by Coach. Rochelle snatched a baseball bat, uttering a silent, "I know what to do with this." One pistol left.

Willow curled her fingers around the fire axe, lifting up its weight anxiously. Her heart was pounding, but she was ready. Her hands were still shaking from her last encounter, but her mind was prepared. Ellis must've noticed this, since the next thing she felt was a soft grip on her shoulder. She paused, flipping her head towards him with a bewildered stare.

"Hold up a sec. This'll probably do you better than it will me," He held out the final pistol in front of her, lips forming a quaint smirk. Willow looked down at the firearm, about to mumble, "What, you think I can't handle this?," until she realized how correct that statement was. She was a dancer. Great stamina, incredible flexibility, strong legs. While she knew her arms should be just as strong as her legs, they weren't, and a fire axe wouldn't be the greatest weapon to start out with. So, she lowered the axe with a sigh and gripped the pistol out of Ellis' palm, trading it for the handle of the axe. "Thanks, Ellis." She replied.

"Much obliged. Sorry 'bout that, you looked a bit spooked. Don't worry, I got this." He swung the axe over his shoulder with pride. "Ya know, I built myself a truck that was completely zombie-proof."

"Really?" Willow inquired, "How'd that work for you?"

"Well," Ellis scratched underneath his hat, searching for the words, "Turns out it was only 99 percent zombie-proof. And the other 1 percent tore the truck up to _shit._" Willow laughed, a short one, but warm one. Her smile remained planted on her face as Ellis gave her a final pat on the shoulder and retreated to the door beside Nick. Her first smile of the apocalypse. She didn't think it would come this quick and last so long.

"C'mon, let's get going!" Nick shouted, throwing the door open.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>_Okay so it actually did turn out to be on the long side for a prelude but it doesn't matter. I hope you enjoyed it! I'd super appreciate it if you left a review to let me know what you think. :) _


	2. Pray Harder

_Thanks a bunch to __**WitchyRi **__and __**AnntheHedgehog**__ for reviewing, I really appreciate your kind words! They helped drive me to write this next chapter :)_

**"Pray Harder"  
>Dead Center 2<strong>

Nick was the first to scramble down the stairs, his steps quiet but hasty. Willow followed, beside Ellis and Rochelle while Coach trailed cautiously behind Nick. Even against the flimsy plastic steps, she could feel the heat from the fire start to tingle against her bare feet. That couldn't be good. The fire was spreading quick… and she didn't have any shoes. She was about to regret her spontaneous escape out the door to join these strangers, but she knew that if she hadn't, she probably wouldn't be so lucky. With both her fingers clutched firmly around her pistol, she slowed to an abrupt stop at the bottom of the stairs, struggling to peer over Coach's massive height so she could keep Nick in her view. He didn't waste any time. Nick snatched the knob, pressing his shoulder up against the door to help force it open. As soon as the door swung open, their fears were confirmed.

And then they flew towards them.

They had followed them in. Willow knew what they were, and she didn't doubt that the rest of the group did too. It'd been 2 long weeks of faulty news coverage and spreading rumors - they had to have known by now. While this wasn't their first encounter, that still didn't stop their hearts from skipping a beat. The infected were quick, and they were unprepared for the scare.

"Shot, damnit, _shoot_!" Nick shouted as the fiends sprinted down the halls towards them, muffled snarls and growls rapidly filling the air. They clawed ahead, wobbling legs stretching forward with shocking speed. If anyone had blinked, they could've fallen victim. White flashes suddenly brightened the room and gunfire came along with them, causing Willow to tense before she'd managed to pry her weapon away from her side and join in Nick's shots. It wasn't long until Coach dispatched his own blasts.

Once the firing ceased, the room was brought back to silence. Nothing but heavy breaths could be heard above the faint crackle of burning-hotel_._ Willow kept both hands wrapped around the pistol, fingers wet with a cold sweat and trembling with astonishment. She slowly turned her head around, watching the equally shocked faces of the group. She let out an uneasy breath of air she'd been holding in and swallowed hard, eyes attempting to squirm away from the pile of bodies still twitching in the hall. "Jesus…" She whispered, her voice dry and soft. She felt her mouth open to say more, but she couldn't find the words.

"… These don't look like people." Nick murmured, eyes still scanning one of the bodies with a pistol ready. "Certainly don't act like it, either."

"Dude, those zombies are _real._" Ellis finally popped in, fire axe still ready for a swing. "I knew them books were nonfiction." His voice was a quick change of pace, something that irritated Nick but somehow comforted Willow. Nick grumbled something along the lines of, "how does him saying that not surprise me," under his breath.

"The media mentioned something worse than zombies…" Rochelle began, her voice falling into silence by her last word. Everyone went quiet at that statement. Even Ellis' face grew stern, despite his last joke.

"It's them or us." Coach finally said, his tone determined. He reloaded his pistol as he spoke again, "So we better get the hell outta here."

Nick nodded in agreement and took a step out into the hallway, maneuvering his legs to avoid the bodies in front of himself. "Let's get going. This place is burning up." As he started down the hall, they all followed in the same formation. Guns in front, melees in back. They stayed as quiet as they could, maneuvering in such a compressed spaced, but the scuffling of their feet was enough to alert the closest infected. Willow flipped her head back at the crushing sound of metal against bone rang from behind her. Ellis paused to rip the axe out of the infected's skull, another new frightening sound to her ears.

"_Euch_," he muttered as he tried to dodge the blood splatter. If all those books he read were right, then there was more than one way to become a brain-eater.

As soon as the grunt had left Ellis' mouth, another stumbled from a nearby room. The boy was quick and gripped his axe as he had before, but just before he was able to release a swing, a second sprinted into the hall, and behind it, a third. Then another. They poured out from the same room in groups of five or more, screaming and pushing past one another at the sight of the group.

"Move, move!" Rochelle cried, grabbing a hold of Ellis' shoulder and pulling him backwards along with her. They spun around, taking the front with the rest of the assemblage and dashed through the crumbling walls of the hotel. Willow's eyes flickered from left to right as she sprinted, peering into broken down doors and blood-stained hotel rooms. There were more inside. They were gathering together. She didn't even want to look behind herself to see if they were any closer - she just ran faster and prayed.

And just as soon as she finished her hopeless plea, she brought her head up to see a blockade of office desks and potted plants piled ahead. Her stomach dropped. "Shitshitshit_shit_!" Nick yelled, his voice loud and sharp above the snarls of the infected. "Where the hell to now?"

"Keep right! The conference room!" Coach shouted back, raising his arm to point to the white door hidden behind one of the toppled desks. The door was propped open, and the inside of the room seemed to emit a clear, bright sunshine through its creaks. The gateway to heaven, in Willow's eyes. She pushed her legs forward until her bare feet hardly touched the ground, clumsily coming to a skidding stop as she neared the tumbled desk. She hastily pushed the door open with an elbow and leapt over the desk, nearly plummeting to a fall as she landed inside the room. She flipped around, holding the door open for the rest of the survivors. "Come on!" She hollered, an urgency in her voice she didn't even know she had.

The rest scrambled into the room quickly, Nick being the second and Ellis the last; as soon as he flew into the room, Willow slammed the door shut and pressed her back to it, her muscles tensing in preparation of the violent thuds she expected to receive, but instead, she heard Coach's throaty orders again. "Move the bookshelf in front of the door!"

Nick stepped forward beside one end of the self, while Coach took the other. With a couple heavy grunts and the screeching sound of eroding wood chafing against itself, the bookshelf gave way and slowly covered the door until it was invisible. Nick let out a long breath of air, his hands falling down to his knees to hold himself up while he tried to regain the oxygen he'd lost. Coach stepped beside him, speaking slowly and pausing for a gasp in between every simple phrase. "Thanks, Nicholas… good… good job."

Nick breathed before he responded, the harsh tone in his voice returning without skipping a beat. "My name's still Nick," he wheezed, "… hasn't changed since then."

Coach smiled at his remark, before breaking out into a chuckle. "Whatever you say, _Nick._" He straightened himself to breathe easier, then stepped further into the room, meeting with Rochelle by one of the grand windows at the end of the room. He raised his gloved hand to shield his eyes from the rays of the sun.

Willow pressed her back up against the wrinkled wallpaper, allowing her muscles to finally ease and her heart to slow. She let out long, silent breaths of air that stung her lungs and shut her eyes, pressing her head against the floral design of the wall. After a few moments of her pants, Ellis' chirpy voice came to her attention. Her eyes fluttered open again to watch him.

"Damn, you sped right past those bastards!" He laughed. "I haven't seen anyone run that fast since my buddy Keith tried to outrun a kangaroo!" His unusual excitement about the sudden apocalypse was strange, but at the same time, his grin seemed hypnotic, so much so that it brought a smile to Willow's lips. "You know, kangaroos might not sound all that quick, with them hoppin' and all, but they're actually one of the fastest marsupials in the world. Unfortunately for Keith, one of the maddest in the world, too. Just goes to show that if ya kick a kangaroo, they'll always kick back." He sighed in recollection. "Well, uh, anyways, that was a compliment."

Willow couldn't hold back a laugh, but after he'd completed his story, she nodded her head with a smile. "Well, thanks, Ellis. Next time I want to kick a kangaroo, I'll remember Keith." Her humor was hard to catch, but it was meant well, since it was paired with a wide smirk.

Ellis paused, his eyes in near shock when he'd realized that she hadn't cut him off and had accepted his bizarre praise, unlike his previous attempts with the others. So, he returned her smile with one of his own and chuckled lightly at her response. "Good, cause, ya know, can't have you gettin' hurt or anything." He felt a little odd saying this, but Willow's smile remained, so his uneasiness subsided.

Nick groaned. "Hey, Overalls, Forrest Gump? Stop screwing around and take a look at this."

As much as Willow would have loved to respond to Nick's name-calling, since she had plenty lined up for him, she caught a glimpse of what he was referring to. Various posters and stands were displayed around the room, a few of them torn and others in perfect condition. She rose from her position on the wall and stepped closer to the presentations, her eyes falling on some of the largest posters. They pictured grotesque images of infected splattered with blood, and underneath the photos, various mounds of texts describing symptoms, treatment, and safety precautions. Her eyes scanned through the words warily. Phrases such as 'remain calm,' 'wash your hands,' and 'quarantine yourself from infected individuals' were dark and bolded every time they showed up. By the time the paragraphs had ended, they appeared more frequently and were repeated multiple times. She turned her attention away from the poster and looked to another, this one filled with pictures of more infected. One stood out the most, featuring a large, disfigured infected that appeared to be covered in rotting tumors and vomiting a glowing green liquid. Underneath the portrait was another bolded phrase: "Boomer." Jesus would have wept at its appearance.

"Check it out, it's Nick." Willow couldn't help herself.

"Ha ha." Nick scowled. "Hilarious."

"Ugh, _God_, what the hell is that thing?" Rochelle whispered, her eyes narrowing with disgust.

"… I think this is what the media meant when they said there was something worse than zombies." Willow's voice fell grim. The longer she stared at the patchwork of pictures, the more serious the situation was starting to appear. She started to face reality, and reality meant that they probably weren't going to get saved. It meant that there was a possibility they could fall victim to this virus, or die trying to avoid contamination.

"Man, a jar is no place for bodily fluids." Ellis scoffed as he noticed the bottled green liquid sitting underneath one of the stands, appropriately tagged with a biohazard symbol and the words: "boomer bile." Just as Willow was about to ask how they even managed to collect the stuff, Coach spoke up and caught everyone's attention.

"There's a map over here."

Everyone turned their heads in the direction of Coach's voice, putting their attention to another poster he had his finger planted on. Rochelle took a step closer to the map, observing the various crossed locations and finally looking down to the circled location near the bottom. She paused before speaking, her voice almost above a whisper. "… looks like they're getting people out in New Orleans."

"New Orleans? Christ, that's far." Nick remarked, a hint of concern as he spoke.

"There's still the mall, right? If we head out fast enough, maybe we'll make it in time." Willow tried to sound as optimistic as she could. Not only for herself, but for the rest of the team too. Except for Nick, who seemed to be immune to any sort of positive attitude.

"Whatever gets me out of this city the quickest." Nick sighed, turning his attention away from the poster and looking out the window to watch the grey smoke emit along the side of the building.

"But Savannah's awesome!" Ellis peeped. "There's a bunch to see here, I can show ya'll all the sights on the way to the mall."

Nick mimicked Ellis' southern accent. "And if ya look to your right, you'll see zombies mauling innocent bystanders. And to your left, CEDA not givin' a shit."

Ellis said nothing to this, and instead glared daggers in Nick's head as the gambler moved over to the door at the other corner of the room that presumably led them across the piled debris. He pushed the door open and tossed his head from side to side, and when he concluded he hall was clear, he called out, "Come on. If we're gunna get out of here we need to hurry." He reloaded his pistol as he stepped out. "Plus, this suit's flammable."

With a roll of her eyes, Willow stepped forward to follow Nick. On her way out the door, she patted Ellis on the back and flashed him a warm smile, since he seemed to trail a bit behind compared to the previous skip in his step. "We've got until the mall to get him back."

Ellis turned to her and smiled with a nod.

"I heard that!" Nick yelled from up front.

Willow giggled to herself, stepping back out into the hall, her feet leaving the warm hardwood floors to the carpet. She couldn't tell which hurt worse. She grimaced at the sudden change, but with a sigh, she continued forward, following after Nick.

For a while, there was little conversation, with the exception of the 'got it's called by one another when the occasional infected decided to rampage through their path. Willow was starting to fall a bit behind, despite her attempt to solider on due to her burning feet. Coach eventually passed her out, and she didn't mind, since she could have used a little rest.

"You doing alright, sweetheart?" Rochelle inquired from next to her, taking notice of her sudden slow in pace.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Willow was a bit shocked to hear her voice since it had been silent for a little too long. "Just… looking forward to that evac station. And some shoes." She wiggled a toe and laughed quietly to herself.

Rochelle nodded in agreement. "Mhm, I know what you mean. I wouldn't mind a nice, warm shower after all this." She laughed, then broke out into a sigh at the thought.

"I could really go for a bacon burger… _mmm._" Coach shut his eyes and for a minute, Willow thought she heard his stomach growl, but she couldn't tell if it was the building creaking or him. Nonetheless, she snickered, and Rochelle joined her.

But, she paused when the ground grew a couple degrees too hot. Everyone else must've notice the sudden change in temperature since they stopped as well. There was a couple of faint clangs and clinks from behind her, and as she turned her head to observe the noise, a ball of fire flew out from the end of the hallway, demolishing the scattered waste and smoldering through the walls. Doors busted from their hinges from the sudden blast and were obliterated in the blaze, along with a few unlucky infected. Willow took a few shocked steps backward, almost tripping over herself in astonishment, but with a few staggered steps to catch her balance, she instantly turned toward Coach and Nick and broke into a dash down the hall. "This place is gunna blow!" She cried, the sweltering gust of heat starting to scorch her skin.

She sprinted mindlessly alongside them, feeling the fire travelling dangerously on her tail. No matter how hard she pushed her legs, they couldn't travel any faster. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she skidded down the corner, taking a hard left and following Nick's trail into another, more open, hallway. She slowed to a steady stop, letting her shoulder fall against the wall furthest from the flaming hall. She shut her eyes and took a moment to catch her breath while the rest of the gang chatted.

"If this is gunna happen every goddamn time we go down a floor, we're not going to make it out of here in time." Coach grumbled, scooting his feet closer to Willow and Nick so he could keep in sight. No one said anything to that, probably because it was bad enough that it had happened once and they didn't want to think about having to outrun fire again, let alone another _thirty times_. Without another comment, they started down the new hall, in the same formation, but a tad more silent than before.

"It's kinda quiet back there." Willow commented, turning her head a little behind herself to see how the rest of the group was holding up.

"Ellis hasn't said much." Rochelle worriedly replied.

"I know, isn't it great?" Nick stated.

Then Willow stopped when she made a sudden realization. Ellis was supposed to be _next_ to Rochelle, not behind her. She turned completely around, her eyes scanning the open room in search of his familiar hat. "Wait. Where's Ellis?" She took a couple steps past Rochelle, the grip on her pistol hardening. After she didn't spot him anywhere nearby, she grew more and more uneasy. Then her eyes adverted back to the flames emitting from the hall and she spotted it: the mechanic's torso being dragged back into the flames, his legs scrambling to catch a grip on the carpet and pull himself out. As he steadily disappeared behind the wall, Willow darted toward him frantically.

"_Ellis!_"

* * *

><p><em>Phewf, this only took forever and a day to finish, and to be quite honest it probably would have taken me longer if my internet hadn't exploded and I didn't have anything better to do. I hadn't planned on squeezing so much into this chapter but lemme know if they're too longnot long enough.  
>I'd love it if you reviewed and I really appreciate you taking the time :)<em>


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